Publications

Parechoviruses A (HPeV, Picornaviridae) are neglected human pathogens that cause sepsislike illness and severe neurological complications in infants. There are no antivirals available for the treatment of HPeV infections. We here report on cell-based assays that allow for medium-throughput antiviral screening of compound libraries against HPeV. The nucleoside viral polymerase inhibitior 2’-C-methylcytidine was identified as being an in vitro ...

Genetic analysis revealed the hexanucleotide repeat expansion GGGGCC within the regulatory region of the gene C9orf72 as the most common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the second most common cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Since repeat expansions might cause RNA toxicity via sequestration of RNA-binding proteins, we searched for proteins capable of binding to GGGGCC repeats. In vitro-transcribed biotinylated RNA ...

Propargylamines have gained importance in the area of anticancer research. We synthesized 1-substituted propargylic tertiary amines using the A3-coupling as the key step. Both, solution and solid-phase protocols, were used to provide a library of 1-substituted propargylic tertiary amines with interesting structural diversity. The triple negative breast cancer subtype is the most aggressive and it lacks effective therapeutic options, while ...

© 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry. M 1 [Co(CN) 6 ] 2/3 -type Prussian blue analogues (M 1 -Co PBAs) were studied as catalysts for the synthesis of propargylamines via A 3 coupling of phenylacetylene, benzaldehyde and piperidine. Cu 0.86 Zn 0.14 -Co PBA was the best catalyst for the reaction by combining the high conversion obtained with Cu-Co PBA with the excellent selectivity obtained with Zn-Co PBA.

Recently, we proposed a new classification for 'subgenotype A' of hepatitis B virus (HBV), in which the novel 'quasi-subgenotype A3' group comprising HBV 'subgenotype A3', 'tentative A4', and A5 was introduced. Newly 'Tentative subgenotype A7' strains from Cameroon were introduced by Hubschen et al. However, our meticulous phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that these isolates should also be classified into 'quasi-subgenotype A3'. Such ...

The occurrence of metal ion exchange in Zn3[Co(CN)6]2 and Cu3[Co(CN)6]2 Prussian blue analogues (Zn-Co and Cu-Co PBAs) was demonstrated for the first time. While Cu(ii) ion exchange easily occurs in Zn-Co PBA, the exchange of Cu(ii) atoms in Cu-Co PBA by Zn(ii) proved to be more difficult. At low to medium Cu(ii) loadings, the catalytic activity of the exchanged PBAs for the A3 coupling reaction of benzaldehyde, piperidine and phenylacetylene ...

Background Mounting evidence suggests a role for the gastro-intestinal microbiome as a determinant of peripheral immunity and central neurodegeneration, but the local disease mechanisms remain unknown. Given its potential relevance for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention, we set out to map the pathogenic changes induced by bacterial amyloids in the gastro-intestinal tract and its enteric nervous system. Methods To examine the early ...

Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are ligand-gated pentameric chloride channels in the central nervous system. GlyR-alpha 3 is a possible target for chronic pain treatment and temporal lobe epilepsy. Alternative splicing into K or L variants determines the subcellular fate and function of GlyR-alpha 3, yet it remains to be shown whether its different splice variants can functionally co-assemble, and what the properties of such heteropentamers would be. ...

Obesity, caused by an excess adipose tissue, is one of the biggest health-threats of the 21st century. Adipose tissue expansion occurs through two processes: (i) hypertrophy, and (ii) hyperplasia, the formation of new adipocytes, also termed adipogenesis. Recently, serum amyloid A3 (Saa3) has been implicated in adipogenesis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Saa3 on adipogenesis using both an in vitro and in vivo ...